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Hazard Pay
"Hazard Pay" is the third episode of the fifth season of Breaking Bad. Teaser Posing as a paralegal, Mike visits Dennis, the manager of Gus' industrial laundry, in jail. During the meeting, Dennis's lawyer, Dan, tunes out and listens to music: he doesn't want to hear what Mike has to say to Dennis about their ongoing collusion. Mike reassures Dennis that the deal he had with Gus is still in place and he should stay quiet. Dennis swears he's loyal to Mike but since the feds took his hazard pay, and everyone else's, "Sooner or later someone's gonna flip." Mike guarantees everyone will get paid, and they shake on it. In the hallway, Mike and Dan go through the list of Mike's guys and where they're being held. It's going to be a long, tiring day, but the two of them are going to see all of them. Summary Skyler finds Walt in high spirits as he unpacks boxes in the bedroom. It's official: he's decided to move back in. When she questions whether this is a good idea, he doesn't pay her any mind. Mike waits outside Saul's office while Huell guards the door. Inside, Walt and Jesse assuage Saul's doubts about working with Mike, who once threatened to break Saul's legs. They let Mike in and he lays down ground rules: He runs the business, Walt and Jesse cover production. Saul privately asks Walt if he's okay with the arrangement, but Walt's unfazed: "He handles the business, and I handle him." Saul takes the team on a tour of potential new lab venues, but Walt, Jesse, and Mike nix them all, spotting logistical problems with each. Jesse and Mike are ready to dismiss the final venue, a pest control business named Vamonos Pest Control, but Walt demurs, declaring, "It's perfect." The next day, the four watch the pest-control team as it tents an infested home. Walt explains his plan: If they cook inside houses undergoing fumigation, no one will bother them or question strange smells. They can hide in plain sight. Saul says the pest crew, run by a man named Ira, runs a burglary operation on the side and knows how to keep secrets. Mike suggests a vote. "Why?" asks Walt: he's already convinced, and so is Jesse. Skinny Pete and Badger purchase four giant roadie cases from the local guitar store and wheel them into the pest control headquarters — the cases have been stenciled, "Vamonos Pest." They ask Jesse to get in on his new business, but Jesse doesn't bite. Mike debriefs the pest control crew and forbids stealing from the houses. He also orders them never to engage with Walt and Jesse without an invitation. "On the other hand, if they tell you to jump, you don't ask what for," he says. "You jump." At Jesse's house, Walt and Jesse finalize plans for the mobile lab. They're interrupted by Andrea, who stops by with Brock and invites Walt to stay for dinner. Walt sits uncomfortably with Brock on the couch; it's impossible to say if the boy recognizes Walt as the man who poisoned him, but Walt is certainly uncomfortable in Brock's presence. After the homeowners leave, Walt and Jesse pull up to an infested house in a Vamonos truck. An employee, Todd, tells Walt that he disabled a nanny-cam in the living room. Walt and Jesse assemble the lab from the roadie cases and cook in a sealed tent inside the house. During a break, they watch TV and drink beer on the living room couch. Walt inquires about Andrea and says Jesse can decide for himself whether to tell her about their work — if he can't confide in her, then there's no way they can keep going. "Seriously?" Jesse asks. "I know you'll make the right call," Walt says. "If she loves you, she'll understand." A seed of consternation and discontent nearly effortlessly planted by Walt. At the car wash, Marie tells Skyler that Hank is back at work and insists Skyler plan a party for Walt's birthday. When Skyler takes out a cigarette, Marie chastises her. "Shut up!" Skyler screams. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she repeats, breaking down in tears. Marie is concerned and baffled by the outburst. In the new "lab," Jesse and Walt weigh the meth and Walt admires the yield. As they leave the house, Jesse sets off the fumigation system to finish the pest control work. Walt finds Marie waiting for him at home. Skyler is resting in the bedroom as Marie recounts Skyler's breakdown and presses Walt for a reason, concerned for her sister's well being. Walt tells her the half-truth that Skyler had an affair with Ted, who is now in the hospital. Marie is shocked, but Walt, manipulating Marie, begs her to keep it a secret from Hank. At Jesse's house, Andrea and Brock play video games while Jesse zones out. Andrea asks if he's okay. "I'm good," he says, but he's clearly unsettled. The seed Walt planted is starting to grow. After rousing herself from bed, Skyler finds Walt and Walter Jr. watching Scarface in the living room. She stares silently as the two revel in Al Pacino's shooting rampage. Like Jesse was with Andrea, she's unsettled by this tableau. Back at the Vamonos office, Mike divides the profit into three piles — $367,000 each. He takes money from each pile to pay for distribution drivers and Ira's fumigation crew. But Walt balks when Mike takes additional money from each pile to pay his nine jailed men - what Mike calls "legacy costs". Jesse offers to cover Walt's share but Walt finally relents, bitterly laughing at his net reduced profit. "It's less than with Fring," he notes. "Just because you shot Jesse James, don't make you Jesse James," Mike replies. After Mike leaves, Walt asks Jesse how he's feeling. Jesse glumly reports that he broke up with Andrea. Walt cuts him short; he was asking about the money. Jesse reasons that ultimately they're getting a bigger piece of the pie than with Gus, so they shouldn't complain. Walt disagrees, and brings up Victor. Maybe, he surmises, Gus didn't just kill Victor to send a message. "Victor trying to cook that batch on his own, taking liberties that weren’t his to take?" Walt says. "Maybe he flew too close to the sun; got his throat cut." Jesse watches Walt walk away, thinking about exactly what that means for their fledgling new enterprise. Credits Main Cast * Bryan Cranston as Walter White * Anna Gunn as Skyler White * Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman * Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman * Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader * RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr. * Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut Supporting Cast *Charles Baker as Skinny Pete *Matt L. Jones as Brandon "Badger" Mayhew *Emily Rios as Andrea Cantillo *Ian Posada as Brock Cantillo *Lavell Crawford as Huell *Jesse Plemons as Todd *Franc Ross as Ira *Mike Batayeh as Dennis *Chris Freihofer as Defense Attorney *Miguel Martinez as Fernando *Michael Ostroski as Homeowner *Alex Knight as Salesman *Joshua Gomez as Sandor *Kristin Hansen as Security Check Deputy Trivia *Walt and Walt Jr. watch a classic scene from the film Scarface ''(1983). Vince Gilligan has often described the character arc of Walter White as "Taking Mr. Chip and turning him into Scarface." *Hank does not appear in this episode. Featured Music *'"You Got The Guts"' by Alarm Music Library *'"The Galvez's & The Contrera's"' by Alarm Music Library *'"On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)"''' by The Peddlers es:Hazard Pay Category:Season 5 episodes Category:Breaking Bad episodes